STREETS I HAVE LIVED ON, CHRONOLOGICALLY

I grew up in a small suburb of St. Paul, obscure even by Minnesota standards. My hometown had been a summer destination for wealthy St. Paul families during the 1920s. Many of the lots in the original section of town were massive. Summit was nice and hilly and fun to ride my bike on. Our neighbors were great.

•

N. 17th St.

I lived here with five roommates and a dog during college. We were famous for our parties (there was a disco ball and a “kegerator” in the living room), and became even more famous for our lack of cleanliness. One semester we switched to only paper plates and plastic utensils.

•

[Can’t recall the street], east side

Right after college I moved into a house with a few of my college friends. I was taking my remaining English credit over the summer, but mostly I spent my days walking around my neighborhood, nominally trying to find work as a bartender, but really day-drinking in the bars where I asked about employment. One Tuesday, my roommate Kevin came home and found me passed out on the kitchen floor. I moved home a couple weeks later and didn’t drink for a few months.

•

Back to Summit for a few years

I tried to write screenplays with my best friend, and get work as a freelance writer. I temped a lot. During this period, I got to know my youngest sisters, who had just been little kids while I was growing up.

•

Pleasant Ave.

I lived on the top floor of a triplex with four friends from college. We had a deck. Again, a big party house. But Timmy quit, Jody got married. Shoulda known, we’d never get far.

•

[Can't recall the street again], Edina, MN: In answer to an ad I moved in with total strangers for the first time in my life. Edina is one of the famously richest suburbs of Minneapolis, but our apartment building alongside the freeway was a true ZIP code technicality.

People talk about bad roommates. I, in this apt., WAS the bad roommate. I was secretly dating a co-worker 18 years my senior and would accidentally leave my alarm clock on during nights I’d stay at her place. I’d come home to find my clock unplugged and laying on my bed. After several months my financial situation became unmanageable and I wasn't getting along with my two roomies, so I moved back home.

•

Summit Lyfe

•

Western Ave., Sioux Falls, SD: My cousin offered me a job writing/producing/directing short commercials for his new company. You know when you go to a convenience store and the gas dispenser deal shows the weather and clips from the Tonight Show while you pump gas?

This was an early, low-budge version of that. I thought it was my opportunity to be Mark Romanek, so I was a pain. I would have had more fun and made better connections if I had embraced the shot on the fly, blue-collar nature of our clients. I basically worked or sat in my little apartment. The company went the way of many start-ups about six months in, and I moved back to Minnesota.

•

Summit Ave.: My hometown has doubled in population since I was a kid. It supports four franchise coffee bars, three excellent pizza places (If you’re in the area, I recommend Roma), and a number of cookie-cutter subdivisions. My parents’ neighborhood is still tranquil and untouched.

We stay out of each other’s way, and I try to do as much of the house maintenance and yardwork as I can get to before my dad does it (he’s very active). I was laid off from my job in September and try to take this opportunity to really become the writer I want to be, and find the work that will propell me into normal, on-my-own-living adulthood.